KNOWING GODMidyear Prayer & Fasting

June 29 - July 1, 2017

Contents

A Practical Guide to Prayer and Fasting ............................................ 1

Schedule ..................................................................................................... 3

2017 Highlights and Answered Prayers ............................................ 4

2017 Faith Goals ...................................................................................... 5

Day 0: Knowing God through Times of Testing ............................... 6

Day 1: Knowing God through Diverse Challenges ......................... 9

Day 2: Knowing God through Adversity ........................................ 14

Day 3: Knowing God and Being Known by Him............................ 18

A Practical Guide to Prayer and Fasting6“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo

the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into

your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself

from your own flesh? 8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your

healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the

glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9Then you shall call, and the Lord

will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ . . .”I s a I a h 5 8: 6- 9

PlannIng for the fast

Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord

will do wonders among you.”J o s h Ua 3: 5

Pray—Spend time reading the Bible before the fast. Ask the Holy

Spirit for guidance in your prayers. On the next pages, write down

your highlights and answered prayers so far for 2017, and what you

are believing God for, for the rest of the year.

Commit—Pray about the kind of fast you will undertake and commit

to it ahead of time. Do not decide on a day-to-day basis. Ask God for

grace.

act—Start eating smaller portions a few days before the fast. Avoid

food high in sugar and fat. Plan to limit physical and social activities

for the week of the fast. Ask someone to be your prayer partner and

support throughout the fast.

note: Consult a physician, especially if you are pregnant, nursing,

or taking medication. If your situation does not allow you to do a

full fast, determine what will work best for you.

2 Knowing God

WhIle fastIng

But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every

word that comes from the mouth of God.’”M at t h e W 4: 4

focus—Set aside time to work through the devotional. Be ready to

respond to God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Pray—Join at least one prayer meeting in your local church. Intercede

for your family, church, pastors, nation, campuses, and missions

throughout the week.

replenish—During mealtime, read the Bible and pray instead. Drink

plenty of water and rest as much as you can. Be ready for temporary

bouts of physical weakness and mental annoyances like impatience

and irritability.

BreakIng the fast

“Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say,

‘Here I am.’”I s a I a h 5 8: 9

eat—Reintroduce solid food gradually. Your body will need time to

adjust to a normal diet. Start with fruits, juices, and salad, then add

more vegetables. Eat small portions throughout the day.

Pray—Don’t give up! Trust God’s faithfulness and timing. Carry your

newfound passion for God throughout the rest of the year. Be in faith

that God will continue to answer your prayers.

3Schedule

Day 1

fastIng oPtIons

Ȋ Water only

Ȋ Liquid only

Ȋ One meal only

Ȋ Other

Prayer meeting to attend:

Day 3

fastIng oPtIons

Ȋ Water only

Ȋ Liquid only

Ȋ One meal only

Ȋ Other

Prayer meeting to attend:

Day 2

fastIng oPtIons

Ȋ Water only

Ȋ Liquid only

Ȋ One meal only

Ȋ Other

Prayer meeting to attend:

Prayer tIMes

List what times and how long you are planning to pray.

Schedule

Day1

Day3

Day2

Prayer tIMes

4 Knowing God

I am thankful to God for . . .2017 hIghlIghts anD ansWereD Prayers

List highlights, answered prayers, and lessons learned so far in 2017.

Thank God for His faithfulness, provision, and grace in your life.

5For the rest of 2017, I am continuing to believe God for . . .

For the rest of 2017, I am continuing to believe God for . . .Personal faIth goals

Spiritual Revival • Physical Healing • Prosperity and Abundance • Rich Generosity

My faMIly

Restoration of Relationships • Household Salvation • Physical Healing

My sChool/Career

Excellence • Promotion

My MInIstry

Small Group Growth • Salvation of Colleagues, Classmates, Bosses, Employees

My Prayer Partner

6 Knowing God

P r e P a r a t i o n f o r t h e f a s t

Knowing God through Times of TestingreaD D e U t e ro n o M y 8 : 1 - 1 8

2”And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you

these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to

know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or

not. 3And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which

you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know

that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes

from the mouth of the Lord.”D e U t e ro n o M y 8: 2, 3

On the way to the Promised Land, God brought the Israelites to a vast

wilderness where they had no choice but to depend on Him for food,

water, and protection. In this time of testing, the Israelites were

charged to obey the commands of the Lord their God by walking in His

ways and fearing Him (Deuteronomy 8:6). Why? The Lord their God

was bringing them into a good land where food was plentiful, and in

which they would lack nothing (Deuteronomy 8:6-10). God wanted

the Israelites to know and obey Him in the wilderness—a time of

testing—so they would keep walking with Him when they entered the

place of abundance.

God faithfully provided for the

Israelites in the wilderness by

giving them manna, which is

miracle bread from heaven. Also,

their clothing did not wear out and their feet did not swell despite forty

years of walking in the desert. God was faithful throughout the whole

Day

0

God is always faithful, no matter what test we

face.

7Knowing God through Times of Testing

journey in the wilderness. He provided them with everything they

needed—big and small.

In times of testing, we come to know God’s faithfulness. He is a

gracious Father who faithfully provides for His children, in spite of the

tests we are facing. We can know God in ways we wouldn’t have if we

didn’t go through these tests. When we trust His faithfulness in times

of testing, we will know His goodness in times of plenty.

aPPly

• Are you currently going through a time of testing? Write out or

draw what you are going through and what God is teaching you

through it. Read Deuteronomy 8:2,3 out loud and with conviction,

then meditate on this passage. Declare God’s faithfulness over

your life, and pray that you will know and trust Him through these

times of testing.

8 Knowing God

• Ask God to bring to mind family members or friends who are

going through a time of testing. Write down their names and the

situation they are in. Claim God’s faithfulness over their lives.

Pray that they will come to know God deeper through these tests.

Pray

• Pray that, like the Israelites, you will come to know God in a

deeper way in times of testing. Pray that you will come to trust

in His faithfulness more and more, so that you can walk with Him

in times of testing or abundance. Pray for the capacity, means,

and wisdom to show God’s faithfulness to others by becoming a

blessing to them in their times of testing.

• Pray for your pastor, those in your leadership and Victory groups,

and your church, that they would come to experience God in a

deeper way whether they are in times of testing or abundance.

Pray that they will grow in trust and obedience to God, and

experience His faithfulness in every situation.

9Knowing God through Diverse Challenges

Knowing God through Diverse Challenges

reaD 1 K i n g s 2 0 : 1 3 - 3 0 • P s a l m 2 3

And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord,

‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a

god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand,

and you shall know that I am the Lord.’”1 k I n g s 2 0: 2 8

Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, allied with thirty-two kings, and attacked

Israel with over 100,000 men. It was a show of Syrian power, and a

test of Israelite strength. In response to Ben-hadad’s challenge, the

Lord told King Ahab of Israel, “Have you seen all this great multitude?

Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am

the Lord” (1 Kings 20:13). King Ahab, with 7,000 men, put Syria’s

100,000 to flight. The victory was the Lord’s.

The servants of King Ben-hadad

comforted him by saying, “Their

gods are gods of the hills, and so

they were stronger than we. But

let us fight them in the [valley], and surely we shall be stronger than they”

(1 Kings 20:23).TheybelittledGodbythinkingitwouldbeeasierfor

100,000 soldiers to overwhelm 7,000 in a valley, where there was

nowhere to hide. To be sure of victory, King Ben-hadad replaced all he

had lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot (1 Kings 20:25).

During this second round, Syria’s army filled the valley, while the

Israelites were so few that they looked like two little flocks of goats. At

that moment, the Lord promised to demonstrate His unlimited power

Day

1

God displays His great power and infinite ability in and through our challenges.

10 Knowing God

and victory to King Ahab. He said: “. . . ‘Because the Syrians have said,

“The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I

will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I

am the Lord’” (1 Kings 20:28).

With this guarantee, the Israelites killed 100,000 foot soldiers in one

day, forcing the Syrians to run to the nearest city. There, a wall fell

on and killed 27,000 more. The Syrian army was defeated, and this

time they knew, without a doubt, that the victory was the Lord’s. The

Lord showed Himself as the God of both the hills and the valleys. He

protected His people and displayed His power in a way the Syrians

could not ignore.

Often, we believe the same lie the Syrians believed: That God is with

us in the hills (our high points) but not in the valleys (our low points).

We believe that if we are to get through the valleys, we will do it

through our own massive efforts, just like the Syrians tried to. We

limit God, often because we are afraid to trust and obey Him at the

lowest points of our lives.

God displays His great power and infinite ability in and through our

challenges. Often, we may feel as though we are trapped in a valley,

surrounded by never-ending waves of enemies. But it is in those

valleys that we will know Him more. That is the perfect time and place

for God to show His power. If we do not limit God to the hills, and do

not forget to trust Him in the valleys, we will see His power as we go

through life’s challenges.

11Knowing God through Diverse Challenges

aPPly

• Do you believe that God is all-powerful, and with you in both

the hills and the valleys? In what areas do you tend to limit God

or have a hard time trusting Him? How can you grow in your

understanding of God’s power and ability to deliver you? What

Scriptures are you holding on to in this season of your life?

12 Knowing God

• Take time to read Psalm 23 carefully. Write the whole psalm

below, and begin to meditate on what it means. Underline

and encircle key words, and write your thoughts, insights, and

meditations around the psalm. What can you learn about God’s

power and infinite ability from this psalm? Take time to memorize

it, so you can claim it whenever you find yourself in a valley.

13Knowing God through Diverse Challenges

Pray

• In prayer, claim and declare Psalm 23 in your life. Ask God to

reveal Himself to you in a greater way through the diverse

challenges you face. Pray that you will not limit God. Instead, pray

that you will know and trust Him more in both the hills and the

valleys of your life.

• Think of a family member or friend who does not know God, and

is currently undergoing challenges. Pray that God would make

Himself known to them, as a God of both the hills and the valleys.

• Pray the same over your church and over missionaries sent out

from your church.

14 Knowing God

Knowing God through Adversity

reaD Da n I e l 3

24Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared

to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They

answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25He answered and said, “But I

see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt;

and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”Da n I e l 3: 2 4, 2 5

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon set up a golden image to make his

people know him, and for his descendants and future kings to

remember him. All the governors, magistrates, and officials, as well as

peoples and nations, were commanded to bow down and worship the

statue. If they refused, they would be burned alive in a furnace.

Among these officials were

Shadrach, Meshach, and

Abednego, exiles of Israel. The

king had appointed them over

the affairs of the Babylonian

province, giving them positions

and privileges no exile would expect. Despite this, when the command

was given to bow down and worship the golden image, they remained

standing. They refused to compromise their devotion to God by

bowing down to an image made to honor someone else as a god. And

they were willing to face the consequences of their decision.

The three men told Nebuchadnezzar, “Our God whom we serve is able to

deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your

Day

2

When we face adversity and trust God to deliver us,

many others will come to know God and acknowledge

Him as well.

15Knowing God through Adversity

hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17). Infuriated, the king had them thrown into

a furnace so hot it killed the soldiers who threw them in. The three

men should have died almost instantly. Instead, in the fiery furnace,

they encountered a physical manifestation of God and they were

loosened from their bonds. God was with them, He spared them from

the fire of the furnace, and He kept them safe.

The king, watching from outside the furnace, saw this son of the gods

as well, walking around with the three men. Nebuchadnezzar saw how

God delivered them from a fire not even his soldiers had survived.

When the three men came out to the king and his advisers, they did

not even smell of smoke. The presence and protection of God was so

complete, it covered them even before they went anywhere near the

furnace and after they came out.

As a result, the king, the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and

the king’s counselors gathered together and saw how God protected

and delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:27).

Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged it was God who had saved them,

saying:

28 . . .“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent

his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the

king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship

any god except their own God. 29Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation,

or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and

Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there

is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”Da n I e l 3: 2 8, 2 9

When we face adversity and trust God to deliver us, many others will

come to know God and acknowledge Him as well.

16 Knowing God

aPPly

• In what area of your life are you facing adversity? Considering the

story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, how can you live in

a way that honors God? What are you willing to do to honor God

even in the midst of adversity?

• Read this declaration of faith out loud:

In times of adversity, God will be with me through the fire. Fear

has no place in me, because I trust in Him. I will not conform to

this world (Romans 12:2). No matter what, I will honor God and

serve Him only.

17Knowing God through Adversity

Pray

• Pray that you will remember God is present in every situation,

whether good or bad. Pray that when facing adversity, you will

have firm and immovable confidence in the presence of God and

His power to deliver you from whatever situation you are facing.

• Pray that your pastor, leadership and Victory groups, and church

will remember that God is present in every situation, especially

when they face adversities, or are thrown into the flames. Pray

they will confidently trust Him to deliver them from adversity.

• Pray that as you trust God in adversity, people around you will

come to know Him. Pray for the salvation of family members and

friends who don’t know God yet. Pray for opportunities for God to

use you so others may encounter Him.

18 Knowing God

Knowing God and Being Known by Him

reaD ac t s 9 : 1 - 5 • g a l at i a n s 1 : 1 5 , 1 6 ; 4 : 7 - 9

3Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light

from heaven shone around him. 4And falling to the ground, he heard a voice

saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5And he said, “Who

are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”aC t s 9: 3- 5

Before Paul became an apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews), he was a

Pharisee who persecuted the Jewish Christians (Acts 22:3; Acts 26:5).

He may have thought he knew God well on the basis of a list of

qualifications that made him righteous before God: his Jewish

heritage, education, blamelessness under the law, and zeal to

persecute the Christians (Philippians 3:5,6). In his passion and zeal, he

breathed threats against the Christians which he put into action, and

got permission from the high priest to bring any that he found in

Damascus to Jerusalem by force.

However, on the road to

Damascus, Paul had an encounter

with the Lord Jesus Christ that

changed him forever. A light from

heaven shone around him, such

that he fell to the ground. A voice called him by name. “Saul, Saul, why

are you persecuting me?” Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The answer

was, “Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Paul declared that he saw Jesus

Christ in the light, and he was forever changed by this. He realized

who God was, what He had done, and what His purpose was for Paul’s

Day

3

The Christian life is about coming to a deeper

realization of what it means to be known by Him.

19Knowing God and Being Known by Him

life. God had revealed Himself to Paul, and then called him by grace

for His purpose (Galatians 1:15,16). As he came to know God, Paul

came to understand that God knew him.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes that those whom [God] foreknew

he also predestined (Romans 8:29). God foreknew, loved, and called

us according to His purpose, since the beginning of time—before we

ever knew Him or could love Him back. In his letter to the Galatians,

Paul said that, when God chose us, He freed us from the slavery of sin

and made us His children and heirs through faith. The Christian life is

not just about knowing God through testing, diverse challenges, and

adversity, but about coming to a deeper realization of what it means

to be known by Him.

In times of need and in times of plenty, in the hills and through the

valleys, in the midst of the fiery furnace itself, we do not just come to

know God in a deeper way; we find ourselves known by Him (Galatians

4:9).

aPPly

• Like Paul, have you had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ

that has changed you forever? Share your testimony of how you

came to know God, and how the revelation of His love, purpose,

and calling changed your life.

20 Knowing God

• Read Galatians 4:7-9. Reflect on what it means to be known by

God as His child. Write down the passage, and creatively record

your insights. Reflect on how your new status in Christ lets you

know Him as faithful, powerful, and present. Write a prayer of

thanksgiving for this.

21Knowing God and Being Known by Him

Pray

• Thank God for knowing you. Pray that this will give you a deeper

sense of confidence, security, faith, and comfort as you go through

daily life. Pray that as you face tests and challenges, you will gain

a deeper knowledge of God’s faithfulness, power, and presence.

Pray that as your family members and friends see these in your

life, they will come to know Him and come to a realization that He

knew and loved them first.

• Pray that, as you grow in the knowledge of God, you will be bold

in preaching the gospel to your community. Ask God for open

doors, wisdom, and courage. Pray for the salvation of your family

members and friends, as well as acquaintances and strangers.

• Pray for the church to grow in its knowledge of God as faithful,

powerful, and present. Pray that we will not back down from the

tests and challenges we are facing or will face. Thank God that,

because He knows us, and we come to know Him more and more,

we have victory in His name.

© 2017 by EVERY NATION BRISBANE®

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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